Groupon is the deal site that has the most experience and the most traction in everyone's mind, so if you just want as many new users as possible it's a good approach. LivingSocial has access to great information through the analytics and the customer surveys they do so if you're running your campaign that way it's a good bet. Google Offers is a bit newer, but the huge Google network can mean a seriously wide net cast for your business, especially if you want to focus on mobile users.

Groupon is a popular internet service that features daily deal vouchers at deeply discounted rates on local activities, dining at local restaurants, beauty products, food, shopping, cinema tickets, and other great items to purchase in 48 different countries. Groupon helps its users discover all thei... read more...

Living Social is a daily deal website that offers steeply discounted prices (up to 90% off) on your favorite restaurants, spas, sporting events, hotels and other local attractions in major cities. Living Social has an extensive user base of more than 85 million, and is headquartered in Washing... read more...

Drumming up business on the internet can be obnoxiously difficult. Deal sites like Groupon, LivingSocial, and Google Offers can be a godsend for actually getting this done. The question is, which of them is best for the particular needs of your business?

Groupon

Groupon is a smash hit site these days in terms of popularity. For businesses that want a lot of exposure in order to have a good chance of getting new customers, Groupon is one of the better options on the market.

PROS-

-“Breadcrumb” Features Low Credit Card Swipe Rates: It’s only 1.8% +15 cents per swipe, which is often way lower than the competition.

-First $5000 Free: Currently you can try out breadcrumb by getting the first $5000 in transactions you process completely for free.

-Breadcrumb Pro for Larger Businesses-Groupon will do a full installation of Breadcrumb Pro services as part of the deal.

-Groupon Reaches 47 Million Customers-

-91 % Customer Return Rate-A high percentage of daily deal customers plan on coming back to the business they purchased the deal with, or have already done this.

The "Bread Crumbs" feature lets you run business right from your Cellphone.

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Living Social

LivingSocial is a growing alternative to Groupon that has worked for a growing number of businesses across the United States. They tend to focus more on researching local areas than Groupon does.

PROS

-$0 Upfront Promotion Costs-You only pay when you get paid, essentially.

-87% Retention Rate-This isn’t quite as good as Groupon, but it’s still up there.

-Pre-paid vouchers up front- You’ll get revenue from customers that pre-pay for your service from LivingSocial even before they walk in the door.

-Free Deal Performance Metrics- LivingSocial will show you exactly how much you’re making due to the deal you’re putting out. You’ll also have a clear sense of when you’re going to get paid so you can plan your finances to match.

-Demographic Tracker: Surveys at the end of the deals on LivingSocial will tell you exactly what sorts of people are purchasing your deals so you can adapt accordingly. With the right amount of data, you can make each subsequent deal better than the last to maximize profits and the retention of new customers.

Here's examples of businesses that have used Living Social to good effect.

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Google Offers

Since Google is already getting into everything else these days including Smartphones and self-driving cars, it shouldn’t be a surprise to anyone that they are now adding a similar service as sites like Groupon and LivingSocial. The Google Offers service is aimed specifically at mobile users though, which makes it different right off the bat.

Pros-

-Integration with Google Maps –This makes it easy for people to find local deals on businesses such as yours.

-Power of Google Advertising: The Google network is truly huge and when you sign up with Offers you’ll be able to make good use of it.

-“Recommended” feature puts your offers into the right hands- Only customers who are interested in what you’re selling will be shown your offers. Google’s network allows them to have data on customer interests to make sure the offers are shown to users based on their interests.

-Mobile Offers: The mobile offers let people redeem your coupon right away when they happen to be nearby. In this way you can bring in customers who are just “out shopping” and on their way to do something else.

Head to Head

Different businesses will obviously have different needs and different thing that they’re focusing on. Depending on what you need the most from your business, you can choose between the following traits.

Tourist Trap-Google Offers has a focus on mobile, and all of the focus puts on mobile in general means that people who are in an area from out of town may be more likely to use Google Offers. So if your business focuses on tourists it might be a good way to go.

The Original Deal-Seeker Service- If you just want new customers as much as possible, Groupon is a good bet because it’s the one everyone is used to the most. So if you want a flood of deal-seekers and potential new customers, Groupon may be your company.

More Information! –The LivingSocial service offers a lot of free information in terms of demographics and analytics. So if you’re used to using this approach to marketing they could be a good bet.

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